For the sake or organization and future search-ability, I'm proposing that folks discussing sieving for espresso extractions keep the conversation in one thread, and filter/pour over style brewing in another. I'd rather have the topics more focused, rather than seeing a generic mega-thread grow, especially if one particular viewer is only looking for one part of the discussion.

This thread may get spit off going forward, but I'm not going to do it tonight.

Thanks.

Hi Kruvers

I've had my Kruve for about a two weeks now and used it a few of times. Each time has been immensely frustrating and unrewarding.

Each time I've used it, I've found that the grinder settings that I've found dependable on my LIDO2, seem to waste a lot of coffee (at a guess, 25% ends up too fine and 25% too course) and have me sieving for a long time (and the mess!).

I really liked the idea of sieving coffee, but in practise this has been very disappointing. I think as a calibration tool to tweak your grinder, it could make sense, I'm just not getting the feel that this is a viable way to make coffee everyday.

Am I missing something or does it take 5+ minutes of sieving and 50% of lost coffee for other users? What should I really expect?

Thanks for any advice.

s-twig wrote:Am I missing something or does it take 5+ minutes of sieving and 50% of lost coffee for other users? What should I really expect?

Are you sieving for pour over? If so, try following TomC's advice to updose your sifted brew. I did so today and I really enjoyed the results.

In my previous attempts at sieving for pour over I used the KRUVE-recommended 400-800 µm screens, discarded the "fines" (and sometimes the boulders too), and brewed with my typical brew ratio of ~16.5:1. This resulted in a lot of wasted grounds (<400 µm & >800 µm) and the coffee tasted flat and weak to me.

Today I used a brew ratio of 14:1 for grounds in the 300-1000 µm range. The result was excellent and only ~10% of my grounds were wasted (mostly <300 µm). It seems to me that the lack of fines may limit the bitterness of the end product, and the increasing concentration by updosing keeps the brew from tasting weak.

For reference, I brewed 18g in a Kalita Wave 155 over 3 min @ 205°F w/ a 14:1 brew ratio. I have a Lido 3 and I adjusted ~6 settings finer than I typically would for a non-sieved brew. Drawdown of the sieved brew took ~1 min, whereas my typical non-sieved brews take ~30 sec to drawdown. Sieving only took me ~1 min, and shaking further only produced a very small number of additional fines.

Manual sieving is definitely not practical for everyday brewing, but I will definitely experiment with it when time permits.

bdswan wrote:Are you sieving for pour over? If so, try following TomC's advice to updose your sifted brew. I did so today and I really enjoyed the results.
For reference, I brewed 18g in a Kalita Wave 155 over 3 min @ 205°F w/ a 14:1 brew ratio. I have a Lido 3 and I adjusted ~6 settings finer than I typically would for a non-sieved brew. Drawdown of the sieved brew took ~1 min, whereas my typical non-sieved brews take ~30 sec to drawdown. Sieving only took me ~1 min, and shaking further only produced a very small number of additional fines.

Manual sieving is definitely not practical for everyday brewing, but I will definitely experiment with it when time permits.

Thanks, that's a considered reply, I appreciate that. I was using it for pour over, V60 actually. I'll try your instructions tomorrow.

Hi all,

Doesn't seem like there's a lot of activity out there for sifting. I tried sifting for espresso over the weekend (by removing >600um). For some reason in my limited tests, the sifted espresso has a dryer finish/more astringent consistently no matter the extraction time or brew ratio. Does anyone have the same experience? The sifted espresso were more smoother/sweeter so the taste balance seems improved. But the drying sensation is ruining the experience for me. Sifting time is about 1 min if I don't remove the dust so it's not too bad.

I believe that I've noticed a powdery sort of astringency with sifted pour-over which sounds similar to what you're tasting. The flavor seemed improved with sifting but I did notice this in the finish which I hadn't noticed before. I also sift for just a minute.

Thanks Chris for chiming in with your experience. That's quite similar to what I had noticed even in my first impression. Really odd that no one else has raised this before (?).

post 68 wrote:By removing only the boulders (>600um), the crema somehow felt a little powdery, as if more fines got into my cup after the sifting process. I tried again with a second shot, and I've got the same feeling (anyone else tried this?).

But I sure hope that is something of my fault or the process - the improvement in taste balance seems rather obvious (refractometer EY% measures nothing out of ordinary btw - no noticeable increase nor decrease - just shows that EY% can't replace tasting nor a reliable indicator of quality).

Regarding dose for filter brew:
When the grind is more narrow in particle distribution; I use less coffee - instead of updosing. I am more around 1:18.
For me thats where the good taste is burried ... But of cause it also has to do with taste preferences.

I received my Kruve yesterday and have brewed about a dozen cups of coffee with it using a Technivorm Moccamaster. I'm starting to wonder if it is possible to dial in the Kruve for a drip brewer where the extraction time is not really adjustable.

My first few cups were ground with a cheap Cuisinart grinder and that was a disaster. The finest setting resulted in grounds too course to use in the Kruve. I broke out the Hario Skerton and it can grind fine enough to use with the Kruve but I'm currently losing 50% of my coffee, mostly as fines. I can't really go more course because I have to regrind the top layer of the Kruve numerous times to make the boulders small enough to fit thru the top sieve (I'm using 600-1000).

Every cup of coffee I've brewed has been sour or bitter (I can't distinguish between the two) and only a couple were even drinkable.

I was excited by the Kruve but I'm quite disillusioned with it right now and feel I might have wasted my money. I will probably buy a Virtuoso on payday and give the Kruve another shot with a decent grinder. But, I've got a feeling that compared to where I'm coming from, non-sieved coffee from the Virtuoso might satisfy me without the hassle, espense and mess of using the Kruve.